● The federal government announces a task force on cycling and pedestrian safety.
In the aftermath of Nusrat Jahan’s death while riding a bicycle, the federal government announced it will create a task force with the provinces and territories “to discuss safety measures to reduce injuries and fatalities involving cyclists, pedestrians and heavy trucks”.
For those of you who may have missed it, Nusrat Jahan is a 23 year old women who was killed by a large truck while cycling in a segregated bike lane in downtown Ottawa on September 1, 2016.
Transport Canada will be taking the lead for the federal government in the task force, which is being established through the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators. The task force is suppose to explore the use of cameras, sensor systems, side guards, as well as educational safety and awareness programs.
In addition to the task force, Transport Canada will undertake a study examining the benefits of modern technologies to reduce collisions between vulnerable road users (cyclists and pedestrians) and heavy trucks.
For more about this subject, click here for an article in the Ottawa Citizen.
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Good to see in some sense, hopefully this just doesn’t become some long term government pet project sucking money though… the technology is here now for vehicles (radar, infrared, camera analytics) to detect pedestrians, obstacles, cyclists. Heck, millions are being spent on self driving cars by the likes of Google https://www.google.com/selfdrivingcar/ Why can’t they mandate that all large trucks have this technology in place in blind spots. I suspect the last death on Laurier was one of negligence though, as the driver did get charged with dangerous driving. Thus, I suspect all the technology in the world wouldn’t have saved this cyclist from a rogue driver just crazy in his ways – duty of care wasn’t adhered to… some truckers are just impatient. But, at least a camera feed would have helped tell the story. I’d say mandate it to make it manditory that all trucks have their blind spots and front ends covered by modern technology (cameras, radar, infrared). Truck drivers owe a huge huge duty of care.
I actually wrote to the trucking association, this red neck wrote me back and blamed the cyclist for being run over by the trucker… how sick is that. Mindset has to change out there, right now its – trucks are bigger, get out of the way or we will run you down. Sick hick town way of thinking, red neck like thinking really. That has to change as well. All the studies and government money won’t change that. Fines, education, retraining, and maybe jail time will?